LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nearly one out of six coronavirus cases in Nebraska have been linked to the state’s meatpacking plants.
Gov. Pete Ricketts says public health officials have linked about 1,005 of Nebraska’s 6,771 coronavirus cases to meatpacking plants. Nebraska’s small, mostly rural meatpacking communities have become some of the biggest hot spots both statewide and nationally, with Hall County surpassing the much larger Omaha area. Ricketts says he's learned from the state's early efforts to contain the spread of the virus, but argues that critics are trying to “Monday morning quarter back” on a pandemic the state hasn’t faced since the 1918 Spanish flu outbreak.
Advocates for the meatpacking workers say the governor and local public health officials should have done more.
Governor Ricketts announces Lincoln will be the third testing site in the state for the Test Nebraska program.
— Jon Kipper (@jonnykip21) May 7, 2020
Starting Friday, the Omaha, Grand Island and Lincoln will all be testing.
Three more cities will be announced in the coming weeks.
Garbage collection in Omaha:
— Jennifer Griswold (@griswoldkmtv) May 7, 2020
5,000 missed collections yesterday in West O. City officials say it is COVID-19 related.
You can watch the briefing below: